The present invention relates to a brake pedal apparatus of a vehicle.
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 6-1113 discloses a brake pedal apparatus of a vehicle.
In particular, there is disclosed a structure in which a pedal bracket rotatably supporting an upper end portion of a pedal arm is fastened and fixed to a dash lower panel and a lower surface portion of a dash upper panel connected to the dash lower panel and protruding to a passenger""s room and a driver steps down the pedal arm, thereby forward pressing a push rod connected to the upper end portion of the pedal arm so as to actuate a Master vac.
However, in accordance with a consideration of the inventors of the present invention, in the structure mentioned above, when the Master vac or the dash lower panel fixing the Master vac is deformed so as to backward move to the passenger""s room at a time of a front collision of the vehicle, a rotating force in a direction opposite to a pedaling direction is applied to the pedal arm via the push rod of the Master vac, and a pedaling position of the brake pedal is shifted backward, so that there can be expected a case that the driver generates a feeling of physical disorder.
An object of the present invention is to provide a brake pedal apparatus of a vehicle which can effectively prevent a collision load from being applied to a pedal arm via a push rod of a Master vac at a time of a front collision of a vehicle or the like and effectively prevent a driver from generating a feeling of physical disorder.
A brake pedal apparatus of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention is provided with a pedal bracket having a shaft and a first fixed portion to a first vehicle body member at its front portion, a pivot bracket rotatably pivoted to the shaft and provided with a pedal shaft apart from the shaft in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a pedal arm rotatably pivoted to the pedal shaft, and a lock plate having an engagement portion allowing relative movement with respect to at least the pivot bracket when a backward input over a predetermined load is applied to the pedal bracket and engaging with the pivot bracket in a normal state. In this structure, when the backward input over the predetermined load is applied to the pedal bracket, whereby the lock plate relatively moves, an engagement between the pivot bracket and the lock plate is disconnected, and the pivot bracket is downward rotated around the shaft.